Brick-cutting machine.



J. 0. LUDLAM & C. F. BONNOT. BRICK CUTTING MACHINE APPLIUATION FILED Dnc. 23, 1907. 91 7,630.

Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

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J. 0. LUDLAM & C. F. BONNOT.

BRICK CUTTING MAGB'INE. APPLICATION FILED DEO. 23, 1907.

917,630. Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

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lr INVENTORS WITNESSES J. 0. LUDLAM & C. P. BONNOT.

BRICK' CUTTING MAGHINIL` APPLIUATION FILED DB0. 2a. 1907.

Patented Apr. 6, 1909.

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BRICK CUTTING MACHINE. APPLIoATIo'N FILED DB0. ze.

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J. 0. LUDLAM & U. I'. BONNOT.

BRIGK CUTTING MAGHINE. APPLIUATIONVHLED maza. 1907.

917,630. vmamma Apr. 6, 1909. 5 SHEETSfSHBET E. NVN z wrrNEssEs mvznjroa s.

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narran JOH O. LUDLAM AND CHAR-LES F. BONNOT, OF CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOBS TO THE BONNOT COMPANY, OF CANTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

BEECH-CUTTER@ MACHNE.

No. emesso.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it lrnown that we, JOHN O. LUDLAM and OHAnLns F. BONNOT, both of Canton, Stark county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Brick-Cutting Machine, or' which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,

reference being, had to the accompanying; drawings, forming part i this speciiication, in which- Figure l is a perspective view oi a brickcutting` machine embodying, our invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with the central part of the machine broken away 5 3 is a section on the line lll-lll ol Fig. 2 5 Fig. l is asection on the line lV-lV of Fig. 2, looking;` in the opposite direction. from Fig. 3 Fig. 5 is a detail view oi the clutch mechanism; and Figs. (l, 7, 8 and 9 are detail views or' certain. of the parts hereinafter reei'redv to.

Our invention has relation to the class oi brick-cutting machines, and is designed to provide a machine otl this character in which the parts which require to be moved to erlect the cutting operation are restricted to the cutting trame and to the cutting; elements carried thereby; which can be readily ad- `ius-ted to cut bricks ot diilerent thicknesses; and in .vhich the tracls upon which the cuttingl frame travel are above the plane ot movement of the column of clay, whereby they can be more easily lept free lfrom dirt, etc.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character which can be set very closely to the delivery die oi the mixer, thereby avoiding long intermediate clay column, and whose operation is controlled by the movement oi' the column of clay.

`Nunn-nous other objects and advantages of our invention will hereinafter appear.

'l he precise nature or our invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying' drawings, in which we have shown one embodiment of our invention, and which will now be described, it being premised, however, that various changes may he made ther in by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of t" ine invention as dehned in the appended claims.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 23, 1907.

Patented April 6, 1?;09.

Serial No. 37,640.

ln the drawings, the numeral 2 designates the bed of the machine, to which are rigidly secured the two end plates or heads 3. These end plates or heads shown as being turther rigidly connected by a tie rod e. Rotatably mounted in each head is an annular gear 5, which is arranged to be inte 4mittently rotatedby means of gearing hereinafter described. Secured to each of these gears at diametrically opposite points are the guide rods or mandrels 5, which are slidingly engaged by the ring plates 7. By means ci Athese guide rods or mandrels, the ring plates are capable oi a longitudinal movement between the two gears 5, while at the same time they are caused to rotate with said gears in their dilierent positions. llfithin each of these ring plates is a non-rotatable frame S, in which are Yiournaled a series of wheels or rollers 9, upon which the ring plates 7 are arranged to rotate. Secured at its end portions in these two frames 8 is a central non-rotatable shaft 10, which preferably has its upper side lattened as best shown at ll in Fig. 3. Clamped to this shai't are a series oi depending angles or brackets l2, whose horizontal arms form a table or support which extends substantially the entire distance between the two ring plates. These brackets or angles are shown as slightly spaced from each other by means oi the spacing,` plates or disks 13, which are rotatae bly mounted on the shaft l0, the interval between adjacent brackets being; just suilicient to permit the entrance ot' the cutting wires le. Secured to the iframes 8 and projecting outwardly from each of them is an arm l5, which is supported on a roller 16, journaled in a bracket or extension 17 ci the stationary end traine 3. The arrangement ot' these parts is most clearly shown in Fig. 2. These rollers 16 carry the entire weight of the cutting; traine composed ol the ring plates and their connections.

The cuttingI wires 11i are arranged in l'our equiedistant series, being connected at their inner ends to the spacing disks or plates i3 at the points 18, from whence they pass outwardly in a substantially radial direction through the guide lugs 1Q secured to said disksor plates, and are connected at their outer ends' to tension 'devices k2O `which are mounted on bars 21 whichconnect the ring plates `7. These tension devices may be o1 any W'elllknown or suitable character, and form no part of our present invention.

22 designates the driving shaft of the machine, which has a spur gear 23 meshing with a spur gear 24 on a longitudinal shaft 25. Rigidly secured lto the shaft 25`is abevel pinion 26, which is arranged to engage a mutilated or half gear 27 rigidly secured to a transverse shaft 28 at the delivery end, of the machine. Keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft 28 is a crank disk 29, to which is connectedone end of a pitman 30. The other end of this pitman is connected to one of the frames 8 of the cutting frame. Also rigidly secured to the shaft 25 is a disk 31, (shown in detail in Fig. 5), having a series of projecting pins 32, preferably provided with anti-friction rollers A 33. Y Loosely mounted on the shaft 25 adjacent to this disk 31 is a spur gear 34, whose teeth mesh with a spur gearl 35 on a shaft 36,

which extends parallel to the shaft 25, andv which carries at its opposite end another spur gear 37. The two spur gears 37 and 36 engage the annular gears 5 at the respective ends of the machine. The driving connection between the clutch disk 31 and spur wheel 34 forms no part of the present invention, but is of the following character: Fora more complete description reference may be had to Patent No. 577,870, dated March 2, 18.97.

Pivoted to the spur gear 34 is a dog 35a, which is normally held in the position shown in F ig. 4 by a spring 36, In thisposition the dag will not be engaged by the pins and rollers 32 and 33 on the clutch disk, and the pinion 34 will remain stationary, the dog 35 being maintained in inoperative position by its engagement with the dog 37 a. This dog 37t is pivoted to the frame at 38 (see Fig. 4), and its intermediate portion is connected by alink arm 39 to an arm 40 on a rocker shaft 41 (see Fig. 7), which is journaled at the base of the machine. Said shaft has an arm 42, to which is pivoted the lower end of an upwardly extending bar or arm 43 having thereon a lug or projection 44 with a cani surface 45 at its under side. Then this arm 43 is actuated in .the manner hereinafter described, the shaft 41 is rocked in its bearings, thereby ushing on the link rod 39 to move the dog 37 a out of holding engage-ment with the dog 35a. The spring 36st now acts to throw said dog-into position to form a driving engagement with the pins 32 and the rollers 33 of the clutch disk 3 1. The gear wheel 34 then revolves, and through the gearing described turnsthe annular gears 5.j `This operation will be further hereinafter described.

For the purpose of moving the dog 37 a into position to again engage the dog 35EL and throw it out of driving engagement with the clutch disk 31, lthe following mechanism is provided 46 designates a spur gear wheel, whose teeth are in mesh withthe spur gear 34, and which is driventhereby. 47 is a rocker arm, which is pivoted to the frame 2, and whose upper end is connected by link 48 with a crank pin 49 on the wheel 46. 50 is an 'adjustable connection between the rocker arm 47 andthe dog 37a. VVhen the spur gear wheel 34 has made a sufficient number of revolutions to impart a one-quarter revolution to the annular gears 5, the spur gear wheel 46 will have been turned sufiiciently to pull the dog 37 L back into engaging relation to the dog 35a and prevent further rotation rested on the base portion of the frame 2 upon a fulcrum projection 53 (see Fig. r"). rlhe dog is engaged by a bolt 54'having a spring 55 seated between its headed lower end and the under side of the machine. The stop lugs 51 are so positioned that after each quarter revolution of the annular gears one of these lugs will come into engagement with the beveled nose 56 of the braking dog, and the gear will be held lby the friction of such engagement from further movement. XV hen the gear 34 is again driven, the stop 51 will ride over the nose of the braking' dog 52 to permit the next quarter revolution of the annular gear.

57 designates a trough or brick at the delivery end of the machine through which the cut bricks are moved and delivered onto an endless conveyer belt 58. This belt, which is preferably' of canvas,or some other material having a frictional surface, is carried on the two drums 59 and 60, and the intermediate supporting rollers 60a. On the shaft of each of these drums is a sprocket wheel 61, and passing around these sprocket Wheels isa driving chain 62, having an adjustable" idler or slack take-up 63. rlhe drum 60 constitutes a measuring or timing drum, and is made adjustable in its bearings both vertically and horizontally by me ans of the adjusting screws 64 and 65. The conveyer and measuring belt 58 is driven by the friction of the column of cut brick thereon, and in turn revolves the measuring drum 60. The motion of this drum is conveyed to the sprocket wheel 61d at the opposite end of the measuring frame through the sprocket wheel 61 andchain 62. The sole purpose )of the chain62 is to set in motion the mechanism of the cutting frame once every revolution of the measuring drum 60. Loosely revolving on the shaft 66 is a sprocket Wheel upon which is a roller 57 which is arranged to engage the cam surface e5 of the lug 44 on the bar 43, before described, once during each revolution of the sprocket Wheel 61a or of the measuring' drum 60. Rigidly secure d to said sprocket Wheel is an arm 68, having a sleeve 69 at its outer end, which is arranged to engage the under side of a Weight roller 70 Which is journaled in a bail or stirrup 71 pivoted to the frame at 72, and which normally rests in a depression 7 3 in the end of a bar 74, Which is rigidly connected to the reciprocating cutter frame 8.

75 is a bevel gear Wheel, rigidly secured to the shaft 25 and driving a bevel gear uf'heel 76 on a transverse shaft 77. This shaft 77 may be utilized to drive any suitable conveying mechanism, (not shown) upon which the bricks may be delivered by the conveyor belt 58.

7 8 designate a series of rollers at the feedin end of the machine, over which the clay passes. These rollers turn in a pan or vessel 79 which contains oil or other lubricant.

The operation of the machine is as follows 1-The column of clay issues from the die 8O of the brick machine or mixer, and passes over the series of lubricated feed-in rollers 78 onto the table or support formed by a series of brackets 12. During this operation, the cutter frame is prevented from moving longitudinally by me ans of the loclring engagement of the Weight roller 70 With the depressed end of the bar 74. llvlhen, however, the inner sprocket Wheel 61, Which acts as timing Wheel, has revolved to bring the shoe 69 into liftinOl engagement With the roller 70, this roller is thereby raised out of locking engagement with the bar 74. This operation is timed to occur just at the time there is a full length column of clay upon the brackets 12 ready to be cut and once during every revolution of the measuring drum 60. As soon as the bar 7 Ll is released the pressure of the column of clay moves the entire cutting frame composed of the two ring plates 7 and the cutting ele ments, to the right (looking at Fig. 2). At the same time the roller 67 engages the cam lug dei and actuates the connections in the manner before described, to cause the rotation of the ge ar Wheel 34 on the shaft 25, and thereby the rotation of the annular gears 5. This rotation of the gears 5 is imparted to the cutter frame through the guide rods or mandrels 6, so that the cutter frame is rotated at the same time that it is moved longitudinally forward. This rotary movement of the cutter frame causes one series of the cutting Wires to cut through the column of clay and sever it into brick lengths. This cutting is completed at the time the cutter frame has reached the limit of its forward movement. The gear Wheel 34 is now thrown out of action by the means before described. The forward movement of the cutter frame through the pitman 30 has caused the rotation of the shaft 28 to bring thc half ge ar wheel 27 into position to be engaged by the bevel pinion 25 on the shaft 25, and the continued rotation of the shaft 25 turns the gear wheel 27 and thereby the crank disk 29 to actuate the pitrnan to return the cutter frame toits original position. The gear Wheel is arranged to turn the crank pin to a point just below its center, where it stands until the beginning of the next operation. During this operation the column of clay has been continually advancing onto the table or support formed by the brackets 12, and as soon as this table or support is occupied by this advancing column of clay, the timing wheel 61 has been turned by the conveyer belt 58 to cause the cycle of operations to be again repeated.

The advantages of our invention are numerous, and will be appreciated by those skilled in this'art. Thus, it will be seen that instead of reciprocating the entire frame of the machine, we reciprocate merely the cutting frame and its elements, the end heads or frame plates 3 remaining stationary. The brackets or supports upon which this cutting frame travels are above the column of clay, and can thus be more easily kept free from dirt, etc. By the provision of the pins or mandrels 6, which form turning or driving pins for the cuttin frame, We obviate the use of a long gear and sliding pinions. A further advantage of the machine results from the fact that, as shown in Fig. 2, we are able to set the machine very closely to the die of the brick machine, thereby avoiding a long intermediate clay column u hich is apt to buckle and cause difiiculty, lt will be further noted that the timing of the operations of the machine is controlled at the delivery end by the bricks themselves, the bricks being delivered without the use of any power except that resulting from the moving column of clay behind them, and which is amply sufficient to drive the conveyer belt and to operate the clutch mechanism. The end frames serve as housings for the gearing, and form the supports for the tracks, and thereby for the reciprocating cutter frame and elements.

Bricks of any desired thickness can be cut by the provision of suitable brackets 12, different forms of brackets being capable of being used Without disturbing their supporting shaft 11, or the other parts of the machine. By rlattening this shaft and clamping these brackets thereto, they are very simply and firmly secured in place.

It will be obvious that many changes may be made in the machine described Without departing from our invention as deiined in the appended claims. rhus, the arrangement of the driving gears may be varied; the form and arrangement of the supporting brackets for the treading frame can be varied;

and any suitable arrangement of clutchI mechanism and controlling connections therelor may be employed.

l/Ve claim l. In a brick-cutting machine, stationary end frames or heads, annular gears housed therein, a reciprocating cutter frame supported by and between said heads, and rotating connections between the gears and the cutting frame; substantially as described.

2. A brick-cutting machine having stationary heads, tracks carried by said heads, gears housed in the heads, driving pins car ried by the gears, and a reciprocating cutting frame mounted upon said tracks between the heads, and having a sliding engagement with the driving pins of the gears; substantially as described.

3. In a brick-cuttinol machine, stationary end frames or heads, gears rotatably mounted in said heads and having driving pins connected thereto, and a reciprocating cutter frame having a sliding engagement u ith the driving pin; substantially as described.

4. ln a brick-cutting machine, stationary end heads, rotary gears mounted therein, driving pins connected to the gears, a reciprocating cutting frame having end rings engaging the driving pins, and bearings upon which said rings are arranged to rotate; substantially as described.

5. ln a brick-cutting machine, end heads, gears in said heads, means for actuating the gears, driving pins carried by the gears, a reciprocating cutting frame having driving engagement with the pins, and tracks for said frame carried by the heads; substantially as described.

6. ln a brick-cutting machine, stationary end heads, a cutting frame arranged to reciprocate between said heads, means for rotating said frame, a central iixed shaft extending through the cutting frame and movable endwise therewith, and a table carried by said shaft; substantially as described.

7. ln a brick-cutting machine, stationary end heads, mounted therein, a cutting frame supported by and reciprocable between said heads and having a driving connection with the gears, a central non-rotary shaft extending through the cutting frame and movable longitudinally therewith, and a plurality ol spaced members secured said shaiit and forming a support for the clay column; substantially as described.

8. In a brick cutting machine, a stationary head, a gear rotatably mounted therein having projecting driving members, and a stationary cutting frame slidingly engaged With said members; substantially as described.

9. ln a brick cutting machine, a reciprocable and rotating cutting frame, having a central shaft lined with respect to rotary motion, but reciprocable With said frame, said shaft having a flattened side, and a plurality of angle members or platens clamped to the flattened side ot the shaft; substantially as described.

l0. In a brick-cutting machine, stationary end heads, inwardly projecting tracks supported thereby, a cutting frame mounted between said heads and supported on said tracks, means for reciprocating said frame, and meansl for rotating the frame during its reciprocation in one direction; substantially as described.

l l. ln a brick cutting machine, stationary end heads having rotatable gears, driving mechanism lor said gears, a measuring drum at the delivery end of the machine and actuated by the movement or the previouslylcut bricks, and connections actuated by the measuring drum for controlling the opera` tion of the driving gear; substantially Yas described.

l2. ln a brick-cutting machine, an endless carrier at the delivery end ot' the ma` chine and carrying drums therefor, said carrying drums being actuated solely by the moving bricks and column oi' clay; substantially as described.

i3. ln a brick-cutting machine, a reciprocating cuttingI trame having cutting elements, means Where oy the column of clay moves said frame in one direction, a locking device for said frame, and releasing means for the locking device controlled by the movement oi the cut bricks; substantially as described.

lei. ln brick-cutting machine, a reciproeating cutting frame arranged to be moved in one direction by the entering column oi clay, a conveyor at the delivery end oi the machine also actuated by the moving column of clay,

a locking device lor the cutting mechanism, and means controlled by the conveyor for releasing the locking device 5 substantially as described.

i5. ln a brick-cutting machine, stationary heads, gears rotatably mounted in said heads and having driving members projecting therefrom, ring plates slidably engaged with d driving members, relatively lined frames Within the ring-plates and carrying bearings upon which said plates are rotatably mounted, tracks upon Which said trames are mounted tor longitudinal traverse with the ringplates, a central shaft supported by said frames and carrying a table, means for periodically rotating said gears, and means tor controlling the reciprocation of said frames; substantially as described.

16. A brick-cutting machine having a cutting frame between the brickmachine and l-reciprocate between said heads on tracks the measuring frame; substantially as del which are above the column of clay; substanscribed. tialiy as described.

17. Abrick-cutting machine having a cutn testimony whereof, we have hereunto 15 ting frame between the brick machine and set our hands. the measuring frame, with means whereby the bricks after being out actuate or set in motion the mechanism that operates the JOHN O. LUDLAM. OHAS. F. BONNOT.

cutting frame; substantially as described. l Witnesses:

18. In a brick-cutting machine, stationary A. A. OLDHAM, end heads, and a cutting frame arranged to l V. D. NIST. 

